If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair but the stain-remover pen and the tongue cleaner. We asked Eshita Kabra, founder and CEO of fashion rental app By Rotation, about the M.A.C lipstick, SodaStream, and yoga mat she can’t live without.
I didn’t really drink sparkling water until I moved to the U.K. It’s not big in Asian countries; anything carbonated is a drink like Coca-Cola. I was surprised the first time I tried sparkling water, but now I love it. I got my SodaStream at Robert Dyas — it was on sale for like £35 by the tills, so I picked it up, I thought it was a good alternative to always buying San Pellegrino. It’s so simple to use, and really good for when you’re hung-over, too.
I am very decisive with skin products — I know what I like. I have three go-to lipsticks, all M.A.C, of which this is one. I think this lipstick suits every skin tone; I offer it to my girlfriends, who aren’t brown. And when I’m tanned, it still looks good. My sister and mum love it, too. I use it as my every day, and have a pinker option, and a more subtle shade, too. But this suits every skin tone, and every mood.
I got my sister and I these matching bracelets as her “push present” when she had a baby — mine is in gold, and hers is in silver. Dior is my favourite designer brand — I know most people say Chanel, but not me. I’d originally thought about getting her earrings, but that felt more like the sort of gift a man might buy a woman. I’d seen these in a Dior store, but actually picked them up at the airport on my way to see her — she lives in New York. She and I have different tastes when it comes to jewelry, she likes delicate things generally — but I wear this everywhere now. At work, when I’m out, I even wear it to the gym. It makes me feel really connected to her, knowing we both have it on.
I give one of these to my dog at 11 p.m. before bedtime. I don’t know if it’s a placebo thing, but he calms down immediately, goes to his corner, and minds his own business. It signals that it’s the end of the day: Time to calm down and go to bed. I would say my dog is not a boisterous boy, but come 11 p.m. he always looks at my chest of drawers, asking me when the biscuits are coming. I think I just saw these on Amazon once, and got them to try; he gets Lily’s dry daytime food, too. The bedtime biscuits contain chamomile, honey, probiotics, and peanut butter.
I’ve been doing yoga since about 2014, when I moved to Edinburgh and didn’t know anyone. I was kind of lonely. So I would go to hot yoga every morning, before work, in order to set up a routine for myself. I’ve had this mat since about 2015 — it was actually given to me in 2015 by some of my Edinburgh friends I made up there. It’s not a fancy one, but it does the job really well, and I feel fond of it, as it reminds me of my time in Edinburgh. I keep it at home mostly, and I can use it to practice forms I don’t do in class, like a headstand. In terms of the clothing I wear when I do yoga, I like Silou and PE Nation.
The smell of tuberose is a very popular scent in Indian culture. It’s like jasmine, so this candle reminds me of my wedding. We had loads and loads of flowers, including English ones, as my husband is English, but in order to extend their scent, we burned tuberose to fill the whole house. I associate this smell as a very special one, but my family jokes this is me literally burning money. I like having a candle at home, but I will also have one in the office, too.
I think they are a great no-nonsense brand. And with this, I definitely see an effect in the morning after using it the night before. It’s also not crazy expensive, like La Mer. I like functional products, ones that feel like they’re working hard rather than simply being cosmetic. I don’t use it every day, maybe twice a week, on the occasions I’m not feeling lazy. But it definitely works, and I think it’s a really good lower-entry product for someone. I feel a bit judged if I go to, like, Clinique or wherever, plus my husband and I both like Kiehl’s products — the bottles are so beautifully designed.
Noissue has something of a monopoly on environmentally friendly packaging. We use these compostable mailers, which cost about £5 more per bag [than regular mailers], but it’s absolutely worth it. We’re doing enough orders that we’re actually getting branded Noissue mailers with “By Rotation” on them. Being a rental business, there are reverse logistics involved; our clothes get sent to people, and they then return them in the same bag. So these have a double adhesive strip, meaning you can reuse it when you’re sending them back. The compostable element is also great — you can put this in a plant pot and it will biodegrade in 90 days. Because it’s compostable, it actually feels really nice, too — I’d describe it as almost silky to the touch.
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